News Release

"Good" cells can go "bad" in a "bad neighborhood"

The general theory of cancer development holds that malignancies occur because of the presence of certain genetic elements within the affected cells.

But a new study by Harvard researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital indicates that "good" cells can become cancerous because of exposure to a "bad" environment within the body -- similarly to the way a "good boy" may turn to crime when exposed to the pressures of life in a crime-ridden neighborhood.